Here is a recap of just some of the SPICE activities and various chess events in Lubbock in the past 12 months:

 Members of SPICE conducted various Chess Workshops (hosted by the TTU English Department) for LISD teachers and educators in Region 17.

 The TTU Knight Raiders Chess Team and SPICE conducted the Super Saturday Chess classes for local youngsters over four Saturdays.

 SPICE and the Susan Polgar Foundation organized and hosted the first ever Lubbock Open Scholastic (K-12) Championship with 109 participants at Monterey High School.

 SPICE and the Susan Polgar Foundation hosted and conducted the Susan Polgar All-Star Chess Training for some of the most talented girls in America as well as the "Chess: It's a Girl Thing" Summer Camp at TTU.

 SPICE and the Susan Polgar Foundation hosted the 5th annual Susan Polgar National Invitational Championship, the most prestigious all-girls national championship in the U.S., at the Frazier Pavilion.

 SPICE and the Susan Polgar Foundation organized and hosted the 2008 SPICE CUP International Chess Festival. The main event was the SPICE Cup Invitational, the highest rated 10-player round robin International chess tournament in U.S. history. Another highlight of the festival was the Texas Women's Open Championship.

 Visit Lubbock and the Susan Polgar Foundation donated two giant chess sets to the Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport. They are being placed on each end of the passenger terminal for all travelers to use. Lubbock is the first airport to have done this.

SPICE helped started or supported chess programs in numerous schools in the area, for example at Harwell Elementary (thanks to the support of the Lubbock Area Foundation), the All-Saints School, Centennial Elementary, Murfee Elementary and Premier High School.

We continued our excellent collaboration with Lubbock ISD and Region 17 to promote chess in education.

I had the opportunity to present SPICE, Texas Tech and Lubbock:

 at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.

 at the Chess in Education Seminar in Chicago

 at the Raytheon's Innovation Day in Los Angeles

 at the TCA workshop in Houston with Dr. Alexey Root of UTD

 in Budapest, Hungary

 in Dresden at the 2008 World Chess Olympiad

 at the Chess & Technology Conference in San Luis, Argentina, organized by "Universidad de la Punta"

SPICE, Texas Tech, and Lubbock also received plenty of promotion:

 at the National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship in Pittsburgh, PA

 at the third annual Susan Polgar World Open for Boys and Girls in Las Vegas

 at the 2008 U.S. Open in Dallas

 at the Chess Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, Spain

 at the National K-12 Championship in Orlando, Fla.

In the past year, through the Susan Polgar Foundation, we have given out hundreds of chess sets, chess boards, chess DVDs, chess curriculum, etc. to many of the local schools. Last but not least, Lubbock and Texas Tech received the prestigious "2008 Chess City of the Year" and "2008 Chess College of the Year" awards by the United States Chess Federation.

The important puzzle (pictured) this week is aimed to improve your checkmating skill. It is White to move and checkmate in three moves. Can you find the very clever checkmate for White?

The Susan Polgar Foundation (a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation) would like to continue to develop structured, chess for success after-school programs in every elementary school in Lubbock, but we need your help.

Please consider working with us by helping sponsor after-school programs in local grade schools. Chess combines so many important qualities in life, such as concentration, focusing and planning ahead, social communication, precision, research, psychology, time management, responsibility, and discipline.

These qualities must be developed, and they can be practiced through quality chess instruction. Such practice is crucial for young people in our community right now. We provide supplies, torganize chess programs, and support teachers and students.